Proposed Constitutional Framework for the Republic of Tunisia

Twitter: #TWSTunisia

The Wilberforce Society is proud to announce the release of its largest project of 2012, a Comprehensive Proposed Constitutional Framework for the Republic of Tunisia, commissioned by the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly. The Report features a new constitutional framework for Tunisia, supported by in-depth research.

Press release

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CONSULTANTS AUTHOR PROPOSED TUNISIAN CONSTITUTION
Commissioned Think Tank is the Only U.K. Group to Draft a Comprehensive Anti-Corruption Constitution of Tunisia

The Wilberforce Society (TWS) is pleased to release the product of its largest commissioned project to date. Today, it publishes a comprehensive report, comprising a constitutional framework for Tunisia and in-depth supplementary research.

The report was commissioned by the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly and Office of the General Rapporteur in early 2011. The Wilberforce Society’s proposed Draft and analysis may now be viewed at <http://thewilberforcesociety.co.uk/tws-tunisian-constitution/>.

TWS’s report has been produced by an able team of 26 experts and students, chosen after a rigorous selection process. The Project was led by Dr. Riddhi Dasgupta, TWS’s senior advisor and the chief draftsperson, and Mr. George Bangham, Chairman of the Society. They have received consultation and briefing from lawyers, economists, diplomats and political advisors in Tunisia and around the world.

Dr. Dasgupta and Mr. Bangham jointly issued a statement describing the report as “TWS’s most ambitious project to date, and a rare and fascinating opportunity for scholarship to combine with real-life political change in the aftermath of the Arab Spring”. During their fieldwork in Tunisia, and North Africa generally, the Project utilised influencer analysis, social media analysis, scenario planning, future analysis, and crowdsourcing from Tunisian academics, politicians, NGOs, and citizens.

This Constitutional Draft is set apart from other submissions in three respects. First, it takes a vigorous stance against public as well as private corruption. Second, in Article 18 proposes restrictions on the injection of corporate and foreign funding into Tunisian elections. Third, it promotes a very clear separation of powers and some of the Executive’s non-unilateral powers. The accompanying documents lay out in extensive detail the political and economic choices that confront the Tunisian people as well as the need to balance constitutional permanence and flexibility.

A TEDx event, with the new Constitutional Draft as its centerpiece, will be held in 2013. The event will broadly address the stimulating theme of The Failure Paradox. More information will be released soon.

About The Wilberforce Society
The Wilberforce Society, the first student-run think tank to be established in the UK, is the country’s leading student-run think tank. It has no political affiliation, incorporating the wide range of views of students at the University of Cambridge. TWS links students with policymakers around the UK and beyond, publishing work in the last year on topics as varied as homelessness in Cambridge and the UK National Security Council. Papers have received significant media and political attention. More information can be found on the TWS website, www.thewilberforcesociety.co.uk

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Contact details
For more information on the Tunisia Project, and for general information on TWS or other media enquiries including interviews, please contact:

Project history

For the proposed Constitution TWS took special care to consult with lawyers and political experts from Cambridge and around the world. With its members drawn from the very ablest of Cambridge University’s students, this project proved to be TWS’s most ambitious and exciting undertaking to date.

The research involved the drafting of a new constitutional framework, with the accompanying research divided into 5 key themes:

1. Separation of Powers

2. Judicial Independence and Judicial Review

3. Individual Rights and Responsibilities

4. Democracy and Fair Elections

5. Anti-Corruption Laws and Practices

An international consultation

TWS’s involvement in this project was supported by its extensive network of academics, diplomats, politicians and think-tanks, with whom it will share research and findings. It is hoped that the involvement of a student think-tank in the Tunisian Constitutional Framework will help provide new and unexpected insights into the drafting of a 21st-century constitution, and the students involved will aim to apply their academic interests and expertise to the project’s benefit.

Research in Tunis

Representatives of the TWS Panel spent summer 2012 carrying out political research in Tunis. Amongst many meetings with representatives of Tunisian politics and civil society, they consulted the President of the Constituent Assembly, Mr. Mustapha Ben Jafar, the Minister for Culture, Mr. Mehdi Mabrouk, and representatives from the major political parties (including Ennahda and Ettakatol) and the UGTT, Tunisia’s trade union syndicate. Meetings were also held with independent observers including Tunisia Live news, The Carter Center Tunis, and the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The TWS Tunisia Constitution Panel submitted its report to the Tunisian Constituent Assembly on Wednesday 26th September 2012. For more information on the project, please contact the Project co-ordinators, Dr. Riddhi Dasgupta (rdasgupta@cantab.net) and George Bangham (chairman@wilberforcesociety.co.uk).

About Dr. Riddhi Dasgupta

Dr. Riddhi Sohan Dasgupta has recently completed a PhD in Expropriation in International Investment Regimes at the University of Cambridge. He studied for a first degree at Columbia University, New York, before completing his MSc at the University of Oxford. His Doctoral dissertation is to be published shortly as a book entitled “International Interplay: Future of Expropriation Across International Dispute Settlement.”